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MARCH 2016
Because of the privilege and authority[a] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. ~ Romans 12:3 NLT
THE GOOD NEWS Looking for a Good Church?
Galatians 6:1-5 By Pastor John Stewart
When someone is looking for a good Church, a healthy,
spiritually alive and honest community in which to grow and thrive as a Christian, what should they be looking for? Galatians 6:1-5 reveals several qualities that can be
helpful in our search. Following Galatians 5 and the believer walking by the Spirit, being led by the Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Spirit by keeping in step with the Spirit, Chapter 6 reveals how believers live out these truths together facing life’s daily challenges. These truths in Galatians 6 are au-
thenticating evidences of healthy and vibrant Christianity at work in true Christian churches. Galatians 6:1-5 1 Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any tres- pass, you who are spiritual re- store such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.” So we find a practical dec-
laration of what a Spirit-led com- munity in action should look like. In verse 2 Paul unveils the heart of practical living in a Spirit-led community: “Bear one an- other’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. This is the heart of this passage: a call to bear one another’s burdens. And this is a primary evidence of a Spirit-led community. Burden bearing, which is sacrificially helping to shoulder the immovable burdens
of our brothers and sisters is a foundational evidence of the out-working of the Holy Spirit. The burdens that we undertake to lighten in one another’s lives can come in many forms: it can be restoring those struggling with sin, or it may others kinds of trials, troubles, temptations or testings! A Spirit led response should be, instead of standing off at a distance judging or criticizing, we should readily, gently and humbly come alongside of one another in times of trouble or distress! This kind of bearing of one another’s burdens fulfills the law of Christ! The law
of Christ includes all the commandments of the Lord Jesus for His people found in the New Testament. It may be summarized by the commandment, "that you love one another" (John 13:34; 15:12). We fulfill this when we bear one another's burdens. The law of Christ is far different from that of Moses. Moses' Law promised life for obedi- ence, but gave no power to obey, and could only encourage obedience by the fear of punishment. The law of Christ, (aka The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus Romans 8:2) on the other hand, is loving instruction for those who already have life. Believers are enabled to keep its precepts by the power of the Holy Spirit, through His love poured out in their hearts. Verse 1 points out the importance of spiritual restoration, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gen-
tleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. This is spiritual brother to brother work requires a love for the offender and a gentleness with humility for anyone of us at many times have been the offender. The ministry is to restore, not to punish, diminish or defame. It is to help bring spiritual health in relationship to God and be- tween His family within the church. The church can be a messy place. The challenge and heartache of the church’s
“messiness” is this: it almost always involves people. We’re the mess and the mess makers and also God’s clean up crew all at the same time! Dealing with the mess we call the church, then, requires knowing how to work through the messes we ourselves make. 3 For if anyone thinks him-
self to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have re- joicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.” We are all made out of the
same dust. The ground at the foot of the cross is perfectly level, all men equally needing the Jesus Christ and the daily empowering of the Holy Spirit. For a Christian to have a superiority complex is a form of self-deception. Cer- tainly we should never think that bearing others' burdens is be- neath our dignity or that we are humanly superior to one another. So we must honestly exam-
ine ourselves? How? By measur- ing ourselves against the “Law of Christ’. The life, the works and the Word of Jesus Christ our
Lord! We must grasp that “the perfect Law of Love” is not some mushy, abstract emotional kind of thing, but is self sacrifice and love in word and in deed demon- strated by bearing one another’s burdens whatever they may be. This is the essence of life in a Spirit led community of believers. A believer also examines himself by carrying his own load (verse 5). This does
not contradict “Bear one another’s burdens” because those burdens are crushing loads beyond what any man can carry without help. “His own load” is the light load that each must carry for himself. This load describes a light day pack! Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” There are certain Christian responsibilities that each believer must bear which cannot be carries for us by others. This “load” is matters of daily intake of God’s Word and prayer. This includes “not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together” and corporate worship of God with His people. No one can do these things for us and the doing of these things may limit the weighty burdens we sometimes carry as well as strengthening each of us to be willing and able to come alongside as burden bearers for our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Simply put, if we don’t bear our own “light load” daily, we won’t be walking in
the Spirit and therefore we are left unable to really help and serve others by bearing their burdens. This is the essence of a healthy Spirit led community. Pastor John Stewart is the Executive Pastor at Revival Christian Fellowship in
Menifee.
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